NIK

Hi Paul, I bow to your superior knowledge. I have ideas for a long term project that uses Augmented Reality to overlay the DCC addresses of locos/multiple units on the screen of a smartphone pointed at a model railway layout. It could be extended so that once the train had been consisted a train menu came up on the screen and the train description selected by touch. Happy New Year. Nick

Hi Simon, If you can accept manual input to select the train ID and you have a Wifi enabled Raspberry Pi and a smartphone then maybe you could set up a JMRI panel to be viewed via a web browser with sensor icons on the screen which you touch to select which train for the train info system. If you have the above hardware then that might be the cheapest way to select the train and address your requirement of expandability. If you don't have a Wifi Pi or a smartphone then a 7" HDMI touchscreen connected to the Pi might do (start at £24 on AliExpress). Regards Nick

Hi, I'm not the only one. The Class 47 was one of the early Heljan OO models and I think others also had motor problems with that type. Others have reported motor problems with early Heljan OO Class 17 models. I saw a club members Limby diesel's wiring loom burn out when the loco derailed and 'shorted' a 5 Amp DCC power district (since reduced to 3 Amp). The first Dapol OO Class 73 I bought had a fault when a DCC decoder was plugged in. To get it running temporarily I disconnected the lighting connections. I've been told about various OO diesel/electric locos where the grease in the gear towers has hardened, slowing the loco and presumably increasing the current draw. My new style all wheel drive Hornby HST already draws over 500ma just to turn it wheels at 12V DC (500ma is the maximum for the Hornby HST TTS DCC Sound decoder). Its top speed has already dropped from 143 scale mph to 129mph. Regards Nick

Hi, I had a Heljan Class 16 whose motor went very low resistance when running in on DC. I had a Heljan Class 47 whose motor died during DC running in but I don't remember if went low resistance. If the Cl16 had had certain types of DCC decoder in it that don't shut down the motor drive in the case of an overcurrent then the DCC decoder could have been damaged and possibly caused local overheating of the loco body. Also running on a DC controller that happens not to have back emf* compensation allows for better diagnosis of faults with the loco. * no compensation trying to hide variations in speed. I agree it would seem unlikely that locos are run in on DC before they have their DCC decoders fitted at the factory, but maybe that's the manufacturer trading off manufacturing costs vs. warranty costs. Regards Nick

Hi, Yes but I was referring to NCE DCC systems eg Power Cab, DCC Twin and Power Pro (5 and 10 Amp). Regards Nick

Hi Simon, It depends on the design of the reader and the interface to JMRI as to how they deal with power ups. Probably will be ok electronically. Regards Nick

Hi Simon, There may need to be an infrared or similar position detector and timer function (JMRI?) in order to decide what forms one train or is two trains close together. I'm helping others in MERG on developing a lower cost, higher reliability RFID system for model railways. The tags and RFID modules used have the ability to write info to the tags. So it may be possible to write specific train info to the leading RFID tag as the train moves towards the end of the cassette and on the scenic section. Regards Nick

Hi Terry, You didn't initially specify which NCE system you had (there are at least three that NCE make). Regards Nick (also an NCE user)

Hi Simon, I've done quite a bit of work on RFID for model railways. You may find that with commercial RFID readers that the range across the track (parallel to the sleepers) is too much to facilitate ignoring a tag placed on the opposite side of the multiple unit or loco. Might be worth experimenting with (mustn't reduce the range parallel to the rails too much). I'm not sure having two RFID tags on a train is deal breaker but I haven't used JMRI much for RFID tag reporting. As to RFID reliability I've found with 125kHz RFID and OO DCC trains that an hours worth of running without an error may be achievable (might need to isolate the track above each RFID reader and provide track power feed on centre line of RFID reader). EDIT I may have a similar application in future but probably minus the automatic route setting. At first I may just put simple information on the display facing the public such as details of loco/multiple units within train. Can you put an extra RFID reader under where the cassette connected to the line leading out of the fiddle yard is placed?. Maybe that could read subsequent RFID tags before the train is too far on to the layout. END EDIT Regards Nick

Hi Chuntybunt, If the comparison was between one Liasdcc and one Zimo DCC decoder then I'm not sure there is enough evidence to conclude that the Zimo decoder is at fault and that all Zimo decoders are to be avoided in favour of Liasdcc. It is possible the Zimo decoder produces ACK pulses that are just within the DCC standard but that the DCC++ command station rejects them. I haven't got a current monitor sensitive enough to measure the ACK pulses of a DCC decoder when the motor is of the low current type. I've looked through the DCC++ code and in the relevant module PacketRegister.cpp its not clear to me what the units are used in the tests applied to the ACK pulse. Is there a DCC++ or Arduino for model railways user group you could ask about how the ACK pulse is measured?. I may try and monitor the pulse width of ACK pulses from Zimo DCC decoders when connected to high current motors but the results may be clouded by the reservoir capacitor on the DCC decoder which will be depleted quicker with a higher current motor in circuit. Regards Nick

Hi, I tried reading the Manufacturer ID and decoder versions from as many DCC locos/multiple units as I could put my hand on. I was using the NCE Power Cab starter set. Only one loco played up and that reported a Lenz decoder. I didn't find as many Zimo decoders as I expected but I did notice they appeared to pulse all their function outputs as well as the motor which should generate a bigger ACK pulse (only if LEDs/smoke generators are attached). Regards Nick

Hi, I've had similar symptoms with an NCE system (can't remember which decoders but a lot of mine are now Zimos) and assumed that it was due to poor contact between the track and the wheels. The motor current can go up quite a lot when the motor is stalled. Some recent motors in recent mechanisms probably consume much less current than when DCC was first specified in the early 1990s. I might try and get some evidence of the motor loading effect by finding a loco that doesn't respond at all well to CV reads and tying the couplings to fixed objects. The motor should be loaded up a bit more than usual when the DCC decoder sends ACK pulses via the motor. Regards Nick

Hi Rich, Might not need much of a computer once the system is finished. If using RFID tags might be able to use a Raspberry Pi with no monitor, keyboard or mouse connected to run the JMRI side of things. Re local control: the right PIC for the application will probably give you the lowest cost in a through hole package but with Arduino Nano (DIP) clones down to a couple of pounds they might be useful as they have libraries for PWM and RFID etc that might be useful. I have put notes on the MERG website on how to modify ~£1 MFRC522 13.56MHz NFC RFID reader/writers to give greater range. Regards Nick

Hi Rich, Since you mention MERG membership and RFID I thought I'd say that one or more members of MERG are working on a DC control system (CANCMDDC) that should also work with JMRI. If you have a JMRI compatible computer that might be combined with CANCMDDC, and RFID readers to give you some or most of the building blocks to help achieve what you want. Regards Nick (a MERG member, JMRI user and a member of a model railway club that has a layout with CANCMDDC)

Hi, Yes, I've bought 17 second hand Bachmann 4 CEPs recently at an average of £130 each (for motor bogies, the trailing bogies, split axle pickups and other spare parts). I'm sure that doesn't look like a bargain now but I'm taking a punt (for instance I don't think anybody else makes the type of trailing bogies used on the CEP and some other BR(SR) EMUs/DEMUs). Regards Nick

Hi, I think this is the first British RTR multiple unit with two coreless motors. The slow running seems impressive in the video posted above, usually videos show up any jerkiness. Hopefully the multiway coupler/connector between the coaches will prove reliable even for exhibition use. Good to see a company have the confidence to produce a new model to replace an older one. Regards Nick

Hi, I'm hoping with the various locos I've bought cheap to use ~ 1 half of the chassis per multiple unit so the friction from the gear towers will be halved. I intend to use Bachmann style split axle pickups on any trailing bogies that need pickups so that should minimise friction elsewhere. I've bought a Faulhaber coreless motor to do some experiments with as it may have a higher top speed under load than the Heljan Class 16 motor (and I've had a Class 16 motor burn out during a test run). The ratio of the Class 16 gear tower appears to be about 21:1 (I suspect 20 to 1). Regards Nick

Hi, That's a very useful observation and tip. Maybe for those like myself intending to reuse the Class 16 chassis in something else it may have a higher top speed after sorting out the lubrication. Regards Nick

Hi, I can't confirm it as I haven't got a 158 (yet) but Bachmann have announced a PluX22 DCC decoder for it so it probably has a PluX22 socket. I'm guessing the PluX22 DCC decoder will be made by Zimo (as Rails say it will come with Brake Button enabled). I'm also guessing it will be similar to the Zimo MX633P22 but minus a few hardware features such as stay alive connections. Regards Nick

Hi, Another advantage of a Paternoster model train elevator is that the tracks/horizontal supports and trains are to a certain extent counter balancing one another (left vs right). However they tend to be suspended from chains which are of course only as strong as their weakest link. Maybe a Paternoster system could be made with guide rails either end but I'm not sure how the sharp radii at the tops and bottom of the lift would be engineered. Regards Nick

Hi, Forgive me if this has previously been mentioned but according to Rails, Bachmann have announced a PluX22 DCC decoder for the Class 158 with a Brake Button enabled (so I guess it may be made by Zimo and from the price its a non sound decoder). So probably the Class 158 will only have PluX22 connector(s) inside. If they arrange the wiring logically there may be a chance of using PluX8 and PluX16 decoders (but they have less function outputs than the 22pin Plux22 connector allows). Regards Nick

Hi, Chris was showing the town scene on board B last week and Rob had the crew hut temporarily placed on board C (part of the interregional goods yard). Apologies for the wide angle shot of the some of the town scene buildings but I didn't want to disturb the workers too much by moving backwards away from the layout for a narrower angle shot. The lead dangling down is for the power supply to a fish and chip shop sign. Chris asked whether it would be possible to make turning on the sign interactive. We discussed having a lead going to a push button located on the layout barrier. However wires between the layout and the barrier are an extra job to fit in before a show opens and are a pain when track cleaning before a show opens each day. EDIT Maybe there is a wireless solution so that people can control the sign via their mobile phones but how to do it without them having to download extra software to their phones first?. Or maybe have some sort of proximity sensor so that when somebody waves their hand the sign turns on. END EDIT Regards Nick Murphy (on behalf of the Basingstoke and North Hants Model Railway Society - still looking for members)

HI, RRP on a 4 CEP is now £449.95. I'm currently saving up for a 4 BEP, a Class 117 and a 2HAP. Regards Nick

Hi, Depending on the decoder there is a small chance an intermittent connection of decoder inputs or outputs within the loco caused the decoder to damage itself. The only decoder I've seen emit smoke it was probably due to the decoder plug pins going through the socket and connecting with the metal chassis or piercing a wire under the socket. Ten thousand hours under power is a lot. Did the decoder have insulation added around it?. Out of interest which make and model of decoder was it?. Regards Nick

Hi, From my observations the lights don't seem to flicker* with the method previously mentioned employed by Bachmann of split axles and dimpled metal recesses for the pin point axle ends. * that's with eight pickups per bogie coach, one per wheel. Regards Nick